Bangladeshi Nobel laureate to form own political party

from The Sydney Morning Herald

THE only version of democracy known to small, crowded, flood-prone Bangladesh has been the contest between the two women who lead its rival political parties - Hasina Wajed, of the Awami League, and Khaleda Zia, of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party.

On Sunday, though, the tectonic plates of Bangladeshi politics shifted as Muhammad Yunus, last year's Nobel Peace Prize winner and the founder of a microfinance empire known as the Grameen Bank, announced he was entering the political fray as the leader of a new party.

"There is no way I can stay away from politics any longer - I am determined," he said.

Professor Yunus was dubbed "banker to the poor" after setting up the bank in 1976. His aim was to enable Bangladeshis, especially women, to start small businesses without collateral and lift themselves out of poverty. In doing so, he invented microcredit, a system which has been duplicated across the globe. The bank now serves more than 6 million borrowers.

The timing of Professor Yunus's political entry remains uncertain. Democracy has been suspended for five weeks after the Government declared an emergency and called off elections that had been scheduled for January 22.

The emergency measure was enacted after months of debilitating protest by the Awami League, which accused the Government, led by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, of rigging the electoral process.

Since January 11, when the emergency was declared, Bangladesh has been ruled by a caretaker administration led by Fakhruddin Ahmed, a former central bank governor, and quietly supported by the army. Mr Ahmed has promised to draft a new voter list and to issue voter identification cards before scheduling elections. That could potentially take months.

Mr Ahmed's government has also vowed to cleanse politics of corruption and thuggery. He has arrested several thousand people, including high-ranking politicians from the two parties. On Sunday the Government announced the names of several dozen politicians, bureaucrats and businessmen in Bangladesh who it said must account for their personal wealth or risk having it be confiscated by the state.

Professor Yunus has hinted at the notion of entering politics for several months. Last week he issued an open letter, in effect asking Bangladeshis to tell him whether they would welcome his involvement.

"I, like you, witnessed where our political culture has brought the country and how it attempted to destroy the country's future possibilities," he wrote. "I know that joining politics is to become controversial. I am ready to take the risk if you think me joining politics will help in ushering of a new political climate."

It is far too early to tell what challenge his party could pose to the political organisations led by Bangladesh's prominent women.